UK

Virgin Atlantic has called for changes to Heathrow Airport’s slot regime ahead of Heathrow’s expansion. The airline is currently limited to just 30 slots at the London hub, though it hopes with the construction of a third runway to grow this to 160. Although it is still an estimated seven years away, the third runway at Heathrow is anticipated to increase flight capacity by nearly 60% over the next 30 years, according to TTG Media….

British Airways has cancelled nearly all of its flights today as pilot union BALPA began a two-day walkover over pay. “Unfortunately, with no detail from BALPA on which pilots would strike, we had no way of predicting how many would come to work, or which aircraft they are qualified to fly, so we had no option but to cancel nearly 100% our flights,” British Airways said in a statement this morning. The strike comes as…

Virgin Atlantic confirmed yesterday the launch date of its new London-São Paulo route. The flight is scheduled for 29 March 2020, and will be operated by one of the carrier’s Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft. Virgin Atlantic will join British Airways and LATAM in offering flights to the Brazilian city, with the route becoming the airline’s first ever to South America. The service will operate daily all year round. Detailed route information can be seen below:…

Gatwick Airport has formally started the process to bring its standby runway into routine use by submitting a notice to the Planning Inspectorate (PINS). The airport — which is currently the second busiest single-runway airport in the world — is hoping to make use of its existing “Northern Runway” to increase capacity for departing flights. The runway is currently only used during emergencies. Gatwick will submit a ‘Scoping Request’ to PINS next month, which sets out…

Thomas Cook has agreed to a rescue deal with China’s Fosun Tourism Group, its banks, and a majority of its bondholders worth £900m, the group confirmed. The deal will see Fosun, which already owns 18% of the Thomas Cook Group, acquire 75% of the tour operator business and 25% of the airlines unit in return for a £450m capital injection. Meanwhile, Thomas Cook’s lending banks and bondholders will contribute a further £450m for 75% of…

British Airways celebrated its 100th year anniversary over the weekend, with 25 August 2019 marking 100 years since the world’s first international scheduled flight launched under its predecessor, Aircraft Transport and Travel Limited (AT&T). The airline has come a long way since that first flight between London and Paris operated on a single-engine De Haviland DH4A — it now flies over 145,000 passengers on 800 flights daily, serving 200 destinations worldwide. British Airways: A Short…

London’s Southend Airport has announced that Loganair’s existing flight between Stansted and Derry-Londonderry will be switching to Southend later this year. Loganair took over the Stansted-Derry service in February after Flybmi ceased operations in February. Loganair already operates flights from Southend airport to Aberdeen, Carslisle, Glasgow and Stornoway, with the addition of the Derry route leaving Dundee as the only destination the airline will still serve from Stansted. Flights between London and City of Derry…

Virgin Atlantic has become the second British airline to take delivery of an Airbus A350-1000 this week, with the official handover of its first aircraft taking place in Toulouse. The delivery comes days after long-haul rival British Airways introduced the type into service last week. In a post on Twitter, Virgin Atlantic welcomed G-VLUX — dubbed “Red Velvet” — to its fleet. Welcome to the family, Red Velvet 🍰✈️ We can’t wait to fly our…

Virgin Atlantic has released a CGI video of its new cabins set to debut with the A350-1000, the first of which will be delivered later this week. The video shows Virgin’s latest “Upper Class” business class product, which will feature 11 rows of semi-enclosed suites arranged in a 1-2-1 pattern. Each suite will be 20 inches wide and recline to an 82-inch lie-flat bed, in addition to a deployable privacy screen, as shown in the…

British Airways pilots have overwhelmingly voted in support of industrial strike action, a ballot by the British Airline Pilots Association (BALPA) has revealed. The union, which represents pilots in the UK, announced the results on Monday afternoon, with a 93% vote in favour of industrial action on a 90% turnout. The dispute at British Airways relates to pay, profit sharing, and a so-called share save programme, according to the union. In a statement, BALPA General Secretary, Brian Strutton, said:…